This application claims the benefit of German Patent Application No. 199 63 742.3 filed Dec. 29, 1999.
The invention relates to a vehicle washing installation comprising at least one nozzle arrangement which is movable past a vehicle to be cleaned in a longitudinal and a transverse direction of the vehicle and is adapted to be supplied with a cleaning liquid for cleaning the vehicle.
In a vehicle washing installation a vehicle is usually cleaned either by cleaning brushes touching the surface of the vehicle during the cleaning to remove dirt or in a non-contacting manner by a cleaning liquid being sprayed or sprinkled at high pressure onto the vehicle. A plurality of nozzle arrangements, which are oriented vertically and horizontally and surround the vehicle to be cleaned in the manner of a portal, are normally used for the last-mentioned cleaning operation. This enables the nozzle arrangements to be of rigid construction, and yet to act upon all the surfaces of the vehicle to be cleaned with a high-pressure jet.
Instead of using rigidly constructed nozzle arrangements, a vertical nozzle arrangement designed to travel around the vehicle to be cleaned is proposed in DE 37 24 978 A1. This nozzle arrangement is rotatable about a vertical axis, so that a high-pressure jet can be directed at the vehicle both during movement in a longitudinal direction and during movement in a transverse direction of the vehicle. The number of nozzle arrangements can be reduced by such a vehicle washing installation design, but the necessary rotatability of the nozzle arrangement around a vertical axis requires structurally elaborate mechanisms with a plurality of moving parts. This involves considerable manufacturing costs and results in a susceptibility of the vehicle washing installation to malfunction.
The object of the present invention is to further develop a vehicle washing installation of the kind mentioned at the outset so that it is of structurally simpler design and is less sensitive to failure.
This object is accomplished with a generic vehicle washing installation in accordance with the invention in that the nozzle arrangement comprises at least two groups of nozzles, with a first group of nozzles facing the vehicle to be cleaned during a transverse movement of the nozzle arrangement and a second group of nozzles facing the vehicle to be cleaned during a longitudinal movement of the nozzle arrangement. By using at least two groups of nozzles oriented in different directions, mechanisms for rotating the nozzle arrangement about a vertical axis can be dispensed with. It is merely necessary to supply the first group of nozzles with a cleaning liquid during a movement of the nozzle arrangement transversely to the vehicle to be cleaned, so that during a transverse movement a cleaning liquid can be sprayed or sprinkled onto the front or rear area of the vehicle by the first group of nozzles, and during a movement in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle the second group of nozzles is supplied with a cleaning liquid so that the vehicle can also be sprayed or sprinkled with cleaning liquid when the nozzle arrangement moves along a longitudinal side of the vehicle.
In order to reliably clean the vehicle along both of its longitudinal sides and also in the front and rear areas, provision may be made in accordance with the invention for use of two nozzle arrangements, which are each movable in a transverse and a longitudinal direction and each comprise two groups of nozzles oriented in different directions. This makes it possible to clean, for example, the front area and one longitudinal side of the vehicle with the two groups of nozzles of a first nozzle arrangement, and to clean the rear area and the other longitudinal side of the vehicle these can be sprayed or sprinkled with a cleaning liquid by the two groups of nozzles of the second nozzle arrangement.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the vehicle washing installation according to the invention, provision is made for the nozzle arrangement to comprise three groups of nozzles with a first group of nozzles facing the vehicle during a transverse movement in front of the vehicle to be cleaned, a second group of nozzles facing the vehicle during a longitudinal movement along a longitudinal side of the vehicle, and a third group of nozzles facing the vehicle during a transverse movement behind the vehicle to be cleaned. With such a design, it is merely necessary to design a single nozzle arrangement so as to be movable in both a transverse and a longitudinal direction. In addition to a longitudinal side of the vehicle, both the front area and the rear area can be reliably cleaned with a single nozzle arrangement of such design. To do so, the front area of the vehicle can be sprayed or sprinkled with cleaning liquid by the first group of nozzles, a longitudinal side of the vehicle can be subsequently acted upon with cleaning liquid by the second group of nozzles of the nozzle arrangement, and the rear area of the vehicle can then also be reliably cleaned by the third group of nozzles of the nozzle arrangement. Afterwards an additional nozzle arrangement movable only in a longitudinal direction can be used for cleaning the remaining, second longitudinal side of the vehicle.
Provision may, of course, also be made for use of two nozzle arrangements, each designed to travel in a transverse and a longitudinal direction and each having three groups of nozzles, with, for example, approximately one half of the front area and of the rear area and, in addition, one longitudinal side of the vehicle being acted upon with cleaning liquid by each nozzle arrangement. In this case, it is particularly expedient for the ranges of movement of the two nozzle arrangements to overlap each other during their transverse movement in order to thereby reliably obtain particularly good cleaning results in the front and rear areas.
Alternatively, provision may also be made, for both the front and rear areas of the vehicle and the two longitudinal sides of the vehicle to be sprayed or sprinkled with cleaning liquid by a single nozzle arrangement by the nozzle arrangement comprising a total of four groups of nozzles, so that each longitudinal and transverse side of the vehicle can be acted upon with cleaning liquid by one group of nozzles without rotating the nozzle arrangement about a vertical axis.
It is particularly expedient for the nozzle arrangement to be movable at a predeterminable distance from the vehicle. This makes it possible to arrange the nozzle arrangement at such a distance from the respective longitudinal or transverse side of the vehicle to be cleaned that optimum cleaning results are obtainable when the vehicle is acted upon with cleaning liquid. This takes into account the consideration that when cleaning with high-pressure jets, too great a distance of the nozzle arrangement from the vehicle will seriously impair the cleaning results, whereas too short a distance will involve the risk of damage to the vehicle by a collision with the nozzle arrangement. Above all, attention must be paid to the risk of such a collision in the area of protruding vehicle parts such as, for example, rearview mirrors.
To position the nozzle arrangement at a predeterminable distance from the vehicle, it has proven advantageous for a sensor unit, for example, in the form of a light barrier to be associated with the nozzle arrangement. The light barrier may, for example, be in the form of a reflex sensor with adjustable background fade-out.
It is expedient for the nozzle arrangement and the sensor unit to be held on a transport unit, preferably a carriage, which is movable in a transverse direction. In this case, it is particularly advantageous for a drive unit associated with the nozzle arrangement to be held, in addition, on the transport unit for moving the nozzle arrangement in a transverse direction. Such a design can be implemented in a particularly compact manner, and traction rope connections which are mechanically complicated and susceptible to malfunction can be dispensed with by a drive unit of its own, for example, an electric motor, being associated with the nozzle arrangement for moving it in a transverse direction. The electric motor can be held together with the sensor unit and the nozzle arrangement on the transport unit. This produces a module-type design of the vehicle washing installation, which considerably simplifies assembly thereof.
To ensure that the nozzle arrangement is positionable at a predeterminable distance from the vehicle by means of the sensor unit, the sensor unit can be held at a distance from the nozzle arrangement on the transport unit and on touching the surface of the vehicle generate a stop signal for the drive unit, so that it is ensured that the nozzle arrangement will only approach the vehicle up to a minimum predeterminable distance therefrom. In this case, it is expedient for the vehicle washing installation to additionally comprise a storage and control device, so that the outer contour of the vehicle detected by the sensor unit during a complete run of the nozzle arrangement in a transverse and a longitudinal direction of the vehicle can be stored for subsequent cleaning operations. A corresponding running program can be derived from the stored values for the nozzle arrangement, so that during a second run of the nozzle arrangement, a detection of the vehicle by the sensor unit can be dispensed with. Those skilled in the art are familiar with such storage and control devices, which, therefore, need not be described herein in detail. Provision may also be made for the sensor unit to be used during a second run of the nozzle arrangement to check the position of the vehicle, so that any change in the position of the vehicle is reliably detected. This reduces the risk of damage to the vehicle even if the driver remaining in the vehicle erroneously changes the position of the vehicle during the cleaning.
In a preferred embodiment provision is made for a sensor arrangement to be associated with the nozzle arrangement for detecting the rear end of the vehicle. With such a sensor arrangement it can be ensured in a simple manner that when cleaning vehicles of different lengths, the nozzle arrangement will be at an optimum distance from the respective vehicle in the rear area thereof.
In this case, it is particularly advantageous for the sensor arrangement to comprise a light barrier oriented at an incline to the horizontal, i.e., light transmitter and light receiver are preferably arranged at different heights so that the rear end of the vehicle can be safely detected by the obliquely oriented beam of light irrespective of the vehicle design.
The sensor arrangement for detecting the rear end of the vehicle is preferably positioned behind the nozzle arrangement, in relation to the direction of movement of the nozzle arrangement along a longitudinal side of the vehicle in the direction towards the rear of the vehicle. This has the advantage that without any additional measures it can be ensured that the nozzle arrangement is at a defined distance from the rear of the vehicle when the rear of the vehicle is detected by the sensor arrangement.
It is of advantage for a transport device to be associated with the nozzle arrangement for moving the nozzle arrangement in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The transport device may, for example, be in the form of a transport carriage movable along a track, for example, a rail, with the transport device preferably having a drive of its own, for example, an electric motor. The drive of the transport device may be controlled in dependence upon a signal from the sensor arrangement for detecting the rear end of the vehicle.
A vehicle washing installation according to the invention with a structurally particularly simple design is achievable by the vehicle washing installation comprising a transport device, preferably arranged above the vehicle, at each of the two sides of the vehicle, with both transport devices being movable synchronously in a longitudinal direction and the two transport devices being connected to each other by a traverse beam on which the nozzle arrangement is displaceably mounted. Such a vehicle washing installation can be assembled in a short time. To do so, it is merely necessary to first mount the two transport devices so as to be displaceable in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, for example, on one rail each. The two transport devices are then interconnected by the traverse beam which itself can accommodate, for example, a carriage on which the nozzle arrangement is held so as to be displaceable in a transverse and a longitudinal direction.
As explained above, it is particularly expedient for the vehicle washing installation to comprise in addition to the nozzle arrangement movable in both a transverse and a longitudinal direction a further nozzle arrangement which is movable in the direction of the length of the vehicle and has a group of nozzles facing the vehicle. This additional nozzle arrangement is preferably held on one of the two transport devices and can thus be moved by this in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
It is of advantage for at least one nozzle arrangement to be held on a nozzle carrying arm. The nozzle carrying arm may accommodate additional applicators for applying foam and/or a chemical cleaning agent to the vehicle to be cleaned. For example, provision may be made for the applicators at least on one nozzle carrying arm to comprise several spray nozzles oriented in different directions for spraying the vehicle with foam and/or a chemical cleaning agent. To perform the cleaning, the vehicle can, for example, first be sprayed with a chemical cleaning agent, foam can then be applied, and afterwards the vehicle can be sprayed or sprinkled with cleaning liquid at high pressure in order to thus obtain particularly good cleaning results.
In addition, devices may be provided for applying wax to the vehicle. These devices are preferably held on a transport device which is movable along the vehicle.
In an advantageous embodiment provision is made for the vehicle washing installation to comprise a blower for drying the vehicle and a flow channel which is in flow communication with the blower and opens in the direction towards the vehicle. In this case, in order to achieve a structurally simplified construction, it is advantageous for at least one nozzle arrangement to be held on the flow channel. With such a design, additional nozzle carrying arms can be dispensed with since the function of holding the nozzle arrangements is assumed by the flow channels.
In this case, it is advantageous for a mouth area of the flow channel directed at the vehicle to be movable at a predeterminable distance from the vehicle. This makes it possible to displace the mouth area in accordance with the contour of the vehicle so that the vehicle can, on the one hand, be washed by the nozzle arrangement held on the flow channel following the contour of the vehicle, and, on the other hand, dried by the blower communicating with the flow channel. In a structurally particularly simple embodiment, provision is made in this connection for the blower to be held together with the flow channel on the transport unit which is movable transversely to the vehicle.
To enable thorough cleaning of the roof and the hood in addition to the longitudinal sides and the front and rear areas of the vehicle, provision is made in a preferred embodiment of the vehicle washing installation according to the invention for this to comprise a nozzle beam which is adjustable in height and oriented transversely to the vehicle. A sensor arrangement for moving the nozzle beam at a predeterminable distance from the vehicle is preferably associated with the nozzle beam. In this case, it is expedient for the nozzle beam to be held on both transport devices so as to be adjustable in height.
The following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention serves in conjunction with the drawings to explain the invention in greater detail.